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Gratitude and Volunteerism: Making a Positive Impact in Your Expat Community
A Form of Gratitude is Volunteering during Your Expat Journey
Although I have been living outside the United States for 10+ years, I still acknowledge various holidays — one of them is Thanksgiving. While I may have some foods that are part of a Thanksgiving meal, I prefer the time and opportunity to express “thanks” and give (giving) where I am globally.
As such, discussing and implementing gratitude and volunteerism being an expat is an essential life value.
In our fast-paced and interconnected world, it’s easy to get caught up in our lives, especially as expats, and forget about expressing gratitude through volunteering in your local community. However, you can practice gratitude for and in your new home location by actively engaging in volunteer work. It is an opportunity to make a positive impact on our communities in a profound way, especially this time of year.
Combining volunteerism and gratitude can help us as expats build connections and foster a sense of unity and shared responsibility for our community. Adding volunteerism to our daily routines is great to gain insight about ourselves, but it also shapes the lives of those around us.
When we dedicate our time and energy to serving others, we are expressing gratitude. Doing so benefits us as individuals but also contributes to the greater well-being of our community and the country we live in.
This article will share significant factors about volunteerism and gratitude as we reflect on the spirit of thankfulness. Intertwining these two concepts together makes them powerful tools for personal change and for creating change in one’s local surroundings. In short — personal growth and social development.
As an expat, let’s dive into my perspective on the dynamic influence of gratitude and volunteerism in positively impacting the communities we join globally.
- Gratitude is having a deep appreciation for the positive things in our lives, big and small.
